Ignition apparatus



.Func 5, 1945.

C. MESSERSCHMIDT IGNITION APPARATUS 'Filed Aug. 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 5, 1945. Q MESSERSCHMlDT 2.377.353

IGNITION APrARATUs Y Filed Aug. 25, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 5, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE IGNITION APPARATUS Charles Messerschmidt, Westbrook, Conn.

Application August 25, 1943, Serial No. 499,938

(Cl. 12S-148) 11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ignition apparatus, and more particularly to ignition apparatus for internal combustion engines.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved ignition apparatus of maximum simplicity and compactness.

Another object of this invention is to provide an ignition system of improved reliability of operation. I

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the description and claims, the various parts and steps are identied by specific names for convenience, but they are intended to be as generic in their. application as the prior art will permit.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of the present disclosure, in which one way of carrying out the invention is shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. l is a front elevational view illustrating one embodiment of ignition apparatus made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 2, with the cover removed;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View on line 4-4 of Fig, 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View on line 5--5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the distributorarm and connected parts;

Fig. '7 is a perspective View of the flexible spring-member carrying the movable contacts; and

Fig. 8 is a front elevation partly in section of the hollow support or housing.

Referring to the drawings showing the particular form of the invention chosen for illustration therein, the ignition device or apparatus includes a hollow support II in which is mounted an induction coil I2 and a condenser I3. A circuitbreaker I4 and a distributor I5 are also carried by the support I I.

In order to make the hollow support I I, a tube i5 of self-lubricating bronze is provided with a knurled portion Il, and has a metal collar I 8 fastened on its lower end in any suitable way as, for example, by a press t or a shrink nt, and the tube I6 with its collar I8, and an electrical binding-post member I9 and a conductor-ring 20 are formed as inserts of a body-portion ZI of any most end 28 of the wire of the secondary coil 25 extends through a hole 29 through the annular wall 3U of the support II and is preferably soldered at 3| to the conductor-ring 2li. Oil-proof cement is put into the hole 29 around the wire 28. The ends 32 and 33 of the wires of the primary and secondary coils are soldered to the bottom of the metal plate or cup-member 34.

The condenser I3 may be made by taking a tube 35v of hard fiber and winding thereon two strips of tin foil 36 and 3l with a piece of paper insulation 38 between them in a way well known to those skilled in the art, whereby the 'edge of the spiral piece of tin foil 36 extends up above the edge of the piece of paper 38, and the edge of the other spiral piece of tin foil 3l extends down below the other edge of the spiral piece of paper 38.

The wires 2l, 28, 32 and 33 of the induction coil I2 are of sufficient length so that after they have been connected as described, the induction coil I2 and the plate or cup 34 can be lowered into the support or housing II to the position shown in Fig. 2. Insulating oil can then be poured into the housing'until the induction coil becomes completely saturated and the oil rises above the bottom of the cup 34. The condenser I3 isv then slid down into its .position in the cup-member 34, whereupon more insulating oil is poured in until it covers the condenser I3. ASoft annular gaskets 3.9 and 4|) of soft vulcanized rubber, Neoprene, or other suitable material are placed in position and a metal cover-member 4I is clamped down tight against the gaskets 39 and 40 by means of a nut 42, lthus crushing the opposite edges of the two spiral pieces of tin foil into respective closelypressed ,engagement with the bottom of the metal cup 34 and with the metal plate or cover 4 I.

The lower hub-portion 43 of the support II is xedly secured or supported in any suitable or usual Way, -and the collar I8 can serve as an electrical ground by having a suitable screw (not shown) clampingly engaging it in any suitable or usual Way, to thus electrically connect the mechanism to the grounded terminal of the battery.

The metal cover 4| which is clamped by the nut 42 into close engagement with the tube |1, serves to electrically ground the cover-plate 4|.

The cup-member 34 has an annular flange or extension 44 to which are secured four equallyspaced fixed Contacts 45. A flexible spring-member 46 is held in non-rotatable clamped position against the nut 42 by means of a second nut or lock nut 41. The spring-member 46 has four flexible spring-arms 48, each of which has firmly secured thereto, a movable contact 49 adapted to engage a complemental one of the four fixed contacts 45. As shown at the right of Fig. 2, the complemental pairs of contacts 45 and 49 are normally spaced apart, and are made to contact only when the roller 50 presses and flexes a springarm 48 similar to the Way shown at the left of Fig. 2. By having a plurality of pairs of circuitbreaker contacts actuated by one roller or cam, instead of having only a single pair of contacts actuated by lche same number of spaced-apart cams as there are cylinders in the engine, the contacts last much longer.

Four high-tension or secondary distributor binding-post contacts 5|, which may be in the form of screws screwed into contact with the wire of the high-tension or secondary electric cables 52 leading to the spark plugs (not shown) of the engine, are located a suitable distance away from the conductor-ring 20 so that the high-tension spark cannot pass from the conductor-ring 26 directly to the high-tension contacts 5|. It will be noted that the high-,tension cables 52 lead downwardly away from the underside of the flange or support-means 53, thus preventing water from traveling along the cables 52 to the contacts 5|.

A shaft 54 is power-driven in timed relation to the engine in any usual or suitable Way as, for example, by means of the end-key 55. A collar 56 is rmly secured to the shaft 54 in any suitable way.

A bar 51 is firmly clamped in rigid engagement with the upper end of the shaft 54 by any suitable means as, for example, the screw 58. The roller 50 of wlcanized fiber, Bakelite or other suitable insulation material is pivotally mounted in a plate 59, preferably a sheet-metal stamping, to which is secured a bearing-portion 60. The parts 59 and 60 have a free lit on the upper end of the shaft 54, the part 60 resting upon an annular shoulder 6| of the shaft 54.

The opposite ends of the bar 51 are pivoted by means of rivets 62 and 63 respectively to weighted arms 64 and 65 which respectively carry pins 66 and 61 which respectively slide in the slots 68 and 69. A coil-spring 10, under tension between pins 1| and 12 respectively secured to the weighted arms 64 and 65, serves to hold the parts 'in the position best shownr in Fig. 3. The distributor-arm 13 has its main portion 14 formed of electrical insulation material such, for example, as Bakelite-impregnated cloth construction and has one end thereof secured as by rivets 15 or otherwise to one end of the plate-member 59, and the other end has a metal conductor-plate 16 enclosing its lower end and secured thereto by rivets 11 or other suitable means.

A cup-shaped cover-member 18, preferably of transparent material such, for example, as Lucite, covers the entire mechanism and rests upon an annular ledge or flange 19 of the support-means or flange 53 of the support I.

In the particular construction illustrated in the drawings, the ignition apparatus shown is suited for a four-cylinder engine. If it were to be used for any other number of cylinders, the number of the pairs of the breaker-contacts 45, 49 and the number of the distributor-contacts 5| would be the same in number as the number of the cylinders of the engine.

As the shaft 54 rotates, the roller 50 successively fiexes and pushes down the flexible spring-arms 48 to successively bring the upper movable contacts 49 into engagement with the lower fixed contacts 45, and in this flexing action of the spring-arms 48, the roller 50 causes each contact 49 to have a rubbing action upon its complemental contact 45 to thereby constantly perfect the contact surfaces and maintain them in proper condition. When a given pair of contacts 49 and 45 are brought together, and when the metal member 16 of the distributor-arm 13 spans most of the space between the conductor-ring 20 and one of the distributor-terminals 5|, a spark jumps across the ring 20 to the terminal 5| and thence through a cable 52 to a. spark plug (not shown) to fire the explosive mixture in a cylinder of the engine.

The parts 51 to 12 constitute an automatic spark-advance mechanism, since as the speed of the engine increases and the speed of the shaft 54 correspondingly increases, the weighted arms 64 and 65 are caused to move apart against the action of the tension-spring 10 to cause the pins 66 and 61 to move out along the slots 68 and 69, to thus shift the rotative position of the plate 59 carrying the roller 50 and the distributor-arm 13, to thus cause the spark to be delivered to the engine at an earlier position of its rotation. The plate 59 serves as part of the automatic sparkadvance device and also carries the circuit-breaker roller 58 and the distributor-arm 13.

My improved ignition device in which the hollow support or housing has the induction coil l2 and condenser |3 therein and submerged in oil, and with the circuit-breaker |4 and distributor I5 mounted on the housing, presents a very compact construction requiring a minimum of outside wiring, and in which the induction coil and condenser are effectively protected by the oil. And the cup-member 34 which forms one terminal for the condenser I3, also carries the fixed contacts 45 of the circuit-breaker |4. And the contacts 49 and 45 of the circuit-breaker |4 and the conductor-ring 20, and terminals 5| and the arm 13 of the distributor, are all in plain view inside of the transparent cover 18, and yet are protected from dirt, grease, oil and water. Also, the hightension cables or leads 52 to the engine extend downwardly away from the ignition apparatus, thus preventing water from traveling along the cables 52 to the ignition apparatus.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth Without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intendedI to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support; an induction coil in said support; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support; a circuitbreaker actuable by said shaft; a distributor including a. rotatable distributor-arm carried by said shaft and having a distributor-conductor rotatable around the outside surface of said support; a conductor-ring connected to the secondary of said induction coil and extending around the outside of and carried by said support, and located adjacent the path of travel of said ldistributor-conductor; and spaced-apart conductorterminals carried by said support and located adjacent the path of travel of said distributor-conductor.

2. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support including support-means extending out from said support; an induction coil in said sup port; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support; a circuit-breaker actuable by said shaft; a distributor including a rotatable distributor-arm carried by said shaft and having a distributor-conductor rotatable around the outside surface of said support; a conductor-ring connected to the secondary of said induction coil and extending around the outside of and carried by said support, and located adjacent the path of travel of said distributor-conductor; spaced-apart conductor-terminals carried by said support-means and located adjacent the path of travel of said distributorconductor; and a cover supported on said supportmeans and surrounding the path of travel of said distributor-arm.

3. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support; an induction coil in said support; a condenser in said support and above said coil; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support and extending upward through said coil and beyond said condenser; a circuit-breaker and a distributor including rotatable parts carried by the upper-end portion of said shaft, and including non-rotatable parts on said support.

4. An ignition apparatus including; a hollow support; an induction coil in said support; a condenser in said support and above said coil; a body of oil in said support in which said induction coil and said condenser are immersed; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support and extending upward through said coil and beyond said condenser; a circuit-breaker and a distributor including rotatable parts carried by the upper-end portion of said shaft, and including non-rotatable parts on said support.

5. An ignition apparatus including: a support;

a shaft rotatably mounted on said support; a circuit-breaker including a fixed contact mounted on said support, and a complemental movable contact carried by a flexible spring-member which is mounted on said support with said spring-member tending to hold said movable contact out of contact with said fixed contact; and actuatingmeans caused by said shaft to ilex said springmember substantially more than sucient to move said movable contact into contact with said fixed contact so as to produce a rubbing action between said complemental contacts.

6. An ignition apparatus including: a, hollow support; an induction coil in said support; a condenser in said support and above said coil; a contact-plate located between said coil and said oondenser and forming one contact of said condenser and having an extension; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support and extending upward through said coil and beyond said condenser; a

circuit-breaker including a, fixed contact mounted on said extension and a complemental movable contact actuated by said shaft; and a distributor carried by said support.

7. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support having an open upper end; an induction coil in said support; a condenser in said support and above said coil; a contact-plate located between said coil and said condenser and forming one contact of said condenser and having an extension; another contact-plate above said condenser and forming the other contact of said condenser and also serving to close said open upper end of said housing; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support and extending upward through said coil and beyond said condenser; a circuit-breaker including a fixed contact mounted on said eXtension and a complemental movable contact actuated by said shaft; and a distributor'carried by said support.

8. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support; an induction coil in said support; a circuitbreaker and a distributor including rotatable parts carried by said shaft, and including nonrotatable parts on said support; and spark-advance means interposed between said shaft, and said rotatable circuit-breaker and distributor parts.

9. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support; an induction coil in said support; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support; a circuitbreaker actuable by said shaft; a distributor including a rotatable distributor-arm carried by said shaft and having a distributor-conductor rotatable around the outside surface of said support; conductor-means connected to the secondary of said induction coil and having conductorportions located around the outside of and carried by said support, and located adjacent the path of travel of said distributor-conductor; and spacedapart conductor-terminals carried by said support and located adjacent the path of travel of said distributor-conductor.

10. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support; an induction coil in said support; a circuit breaker and a distributor including rotatable parts carried by said shaft, and including nonrotatable parts on said support, and said rotatable circuit-breaker and distributor parts including an approximately L-shaped member having circuitbreaker means on one of its arms and having distributor-means on the other of its arms.

11. An ignition apparatus including: a hollow support; an induction coil in said support; a `condenser in said support and above said coil; a shaft rotatably mounted in said support and extending upward through said coil and beyond said condenser; a circuit-breaker and a distributor including rotatable parts carried by the upper-end portion of said shaft, and including non-rotatable parts on said support; and spark-advance means interposed between said shaft, and said rotatable circuit-breaker and distributor parts.

CHARLES MESSERSCHMDDT. 

